Chicken Piccata with Crispy Fingerlings

How we make it. 

Chicken Piccata

4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thin cut
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers
Zest of one lemon

+ a Beurre Manié aka Butter Flour Glob:
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon flour

Put butter and flour in a small bowl and knead together with a fork until you've got a butter flour glob. Don't be scared about this. It's just a way to make sure you don't get flour ballz in your sauce.

Make a dredging situation with 3 plates—one with flour and salt, another with 3 beaten eggs and a third with your chicken, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, to taste. Before you start cooking anything you’ll want your shallots, garlic, lemon juice and zest minced, grated, squeezed and zested, respectively. Once you start cooking things move fast. 

In a large skillet or braiser heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Dip chicken breasts in eggs then flour mixture and add to pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes then turn to brown the other side. You won’t cook them through, you’re just browning the outside. When both sides are browned, remove from pan and set aside.

Once you're done browning your chicken take a look at the fat in your pan. If once you remove the chicken the fat looks burnt, wipe it out and start again with new butter and oil. If not, add shallot and garlic to pan drippings on medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes and then add wine, scraping up the brown bits from the pan and cooking for a few minutes more. Add chicken broth, lemon juice, zest and capers and simmer on medium low for 10-15 more minutes to reduce sauce down. 

Add chicken breasts back into pan and lower heat to low simmer. Stir in your beurre manié and continue to simmer (lightly bubbling) for 5-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender. You can serve now or store in the fridge to reheat later. Right before you serve, garnish with chopped parsley.

Crispy Fingerlings

1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved and quartered
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Wash potatoes and slice into halves and quarters (for the big ones). Toss with oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Arrange in a single layer so they'll get crispy. Cook for 30-40 minutes, flipping around halfway through until crispy brown.

Why we make it.

There are three restaurants in town that we just can't quit. The kind I swear every free Saturday night I won't go to again, but there I am 10 minutes later slurping a dirty martini, cooing over the Roman style artichokes bar side. Some places are just classics and really, we shouldn't apologize for that. The obsession doubles down to inception levels when you consider that I also order the same thing every time I go to these places. At Porcini it's the vitello al limone, a veal cooked in a lemony, butter and caper sauce served with fingerling potatoes. I don't really know what the difference between an al limone and a piccata is but it can't be much. This chicken piccata is my at home version of that succulent delight I want every Saturday night. The brightness of lemon is a non-negotiable when working with fingerlings and the crispy potato gives an earthy grounding to the bite of capers and citrus. You can make it ahead. You can make it to go. But you should make it.